13 Ways You Should Care For Your Lawn This Winter

It’s easy to stop thinking about your lawn in the winter. The grass has probably stopped growing, and it may even be covered in snow for months. While it’s true you don’t need to spend as much time maintaining your lawn in the coldest months of the year, there are still plenty of ways you can show your lawn some love in the winter.

To keep your lawn healthy in the winter, you should aerate your soil before it freezes, and rake up leaves and debris regularly. Avoid walking on the grass when it’s frozen or after it's snowed. Continue pest control and weeding, but reduce watering and stop mowing unless the grass keeps growing. Inspect your lawn regularly for warning signs, and use these months to service lawn equipment and sharpen tools.

Just because your grass stops growing in the winter, it doesn’t mean you should go dormant as well. There are plenty of ways you can continue to care for your lawn to ensure it comes back healthy and vibrant in the spring. If you’re hoping to have a beautiful lawn this summer, then keep reading to learn all the ways you can care for your lawn in the winter to give yourself a head start.

13 Tips To Ensure Your Lawn Thrives This Winter

1. Aerate The Soil

You must aerate your lawn to keep it healthy. Over time, many lawns become so dense that the roots become compacted. This can cause various problems, including waterlogging, mold, and disease.

Aerating the soil in the very early days of winter gives it room to breathe and grow. It also helps prevent waterlogging, which can occur when snow melts quickly and water has nowhere to go. 

You should aerate the soil before it goes dormant (before the first frost), as this allows the roots to absorb nutrients and grow before dormancy.

2. Rake Lawn And Remove Debris As Needed

Raking leaves is typically thought of as an autumn chore, but there is still plenty of raking to do in the winter. Strong winds, heavy snowfall, and other extreme weather events can cause all sorts of organic matter to fall on your lawn.

Always rake up and remove natural debris as soon as you notice it. The longer you allow branches and leaves to rot on your grass, the greater the chances are that your lawn will develop fungus or other issues. 

3. Continue Pest Control

While many pests go dormant around the same time your grass does, not all pests take the winter off. There are still plenty of insects and small creatures that can wreak havoc on your lawn if left unchecked. Use your preferred pest control methods before the first frost, and continue to monitor its effectiveness throughout the winter.

If you live in a warmer climate where it rarely freezes, you should maintain diligent pest control, as you are far more likely to have year-round pests that can destroy your lawn.

4. Keep Foot Traffic To A Minimum On Cold Days

One easy way to care for your lawn in the winter is to walk on it less. When your grass freezes, the blades can easily break and die, and it is almost guaranteed to suffer if you walk on it when it’s frozen. Therefore, you should avoid walking on a frozen lawn, including on snow-covered grass.

The more you walk on a frozen lawn, the more likely you are to kill your grass. If you’ve noticed brown patches where you formed winter paths in the snow, then you have witnessed the damage caused by treading on frozen ground.

5. Build Additional Water Drainage As Needed

Winter is a great time to improve your lawn’s drainage system. If you live in a flood-prone area and have suffered from waterlogged grass in the past, then try to find ways to improve your drainage.

There are several DIY ways to improve drainage, including digging a swale, creating a dry creek bed, or installing a French drain. Choose warmer days, when it’s pleasant to be outside in the winter, to complete these tasks.

6. Sharpen And Service Your Lawn And Garden Tools 

For those who live in frigid climates, there isn’t much you can do outside for your lawn other than leave it alone. There are, however, several ways you can take care of your lawn equipment. Use the winter months to test and service your lawn equipment, including your mower, leaf blower, and weed whacker.

You should also have your lawn mower blade sharpened, along with all your other landscaping tools that have blades. Taking care of your equipment is a great way to help ensure your lawn looks great and remains healthy throughout the summer.

7. Minimize The Effects Of Snow And Ice

You can’t control the weather, but you can control where you pile up snow when you shovel. Avoid creating large piles of snow atop your lawn whenever possible. Snow mounds are heavy and will compact your grass.

It takes a long time for the snow mound to melt, leaving your grass covered in snow and ice longer than necessary. Instead, try to pile up snow on cement and other manufactured surfaces, and in areas where the snow will melt and drain safely.

8. Remove Winter-Hardy Weeds

Weeds are resilient, which is why they keep coming back. Some weed species can even thrive in the winter, particularly if you live somewhere with very few overnight frosts. If you notice weeds growing in the late fall and early winter, you must take steps to get rid of them before they spread.

In some cases, you can simply hand-pull weeds if there are only a few. In other cases, you may need to apply a late-season weed killer to your lawn.

9. Consider Using A Winter Lawn Fertilizer

If the ground never freezes where you live, then you should continue to ensure your lawn is fed nutrients throughout the winter. While fertilizing is typically done in the spring and fall, your lawn could benefit from a winter feeding. Even areas with short winters can benefit from winter fertilizing.

Remember, the type and quantity of fertilizer will vary by region, so ask a local lawn professional what to use on your lawn before feeding it this winter.

10. Lower The Risk Of Burrowing Rodents

Several rodents, including mice, moles, squirrels, and other animals burrow in the ground in the winter. While these burrow locations are essential for their survival through harsh winters, they can damage your lawn.

In late fall and early winter, you should fill any holes and seal up areas under your porch and in other vulnerable areas. Removing potential burrowing locations will help protect it from these lawn-ruining creatures.

11. Reduce Your Watering Routine

As grass slows its growth in cold weather, you should slow the watering routine at the same pace. Grass doesn’t require much water when it’s dormant, because it isn’t using much energy. Overwatering your lawn in the winter can result in a waterlogged and muddy lawn. Therefore, you must scale back on watering, and in cold climates, you can often completely halt your watering routine until the spring.

12. Walk Your Property Regularly To Spot Potential Issues

It’s a lot easier to fix issues with your lawn in the winter when you spot them early. To ensure you notice red flags right away, walk around your property regularly with a discerning eye.

As you walk your property, look for weeds, potential signs of fungal growth, and even burrowing animals. The sooner you address these problems, the easier they are to fix.

13. Avoid Mowing The Lawn Too Late Or Too Early In The Year

One easy way to damage your grass is to mow it too late or too early in the season. When you cut dormant grass, it stresses the plant. The fresh cuts also leave it vulnerable to disease. Always stop cutting your grass before the first frost, and don’t begin cutting in the spring until it starts growing normally again.

Wrapping Up Ways You Can Care For Your Lawn This Winter

Lawn care is often considered a spring, summer, and fall chore, but there is plenty you can do in the winter to maintain your grass. Rake leaves and debris throughout the winter to avoid disease, and aerate the soil before the first frost. Consider adding more drainage to your yard and find ways to keep pests, diseases, and weeds away throughout the winter. Avoid walking on your lawn when it's frozen, and avoid piling snow on grassy areas.

Related Guides:

• Nine Types Of Grass And What They Are Good For
• Eight Steps To Quickly Revive Grass After An Overnight Frost
• How To Tell If Your Garden Soil Is Compacted